


The 12 o’Clock Habit

by arisanite



Category: The Hating Game - Sally Thorne
Genre: F/M, Lunch, Prequel, Secret Crush, Sequel, Slice of Life, what happened in between
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 00:15:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11725524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arisanite/pseuds/arisanite
Summary: This story spans a number of lunchtimes when Lucy and Josh would leave their battle stations and take their breaks. It covers a time before the merger till the time after the new Chief Operating Officer of Bexley and Gamin has been decided.





	The 12 o’Clock Habit

**Title:** The 12 o’Clock Habit

**Fandom:** The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

**Genre:** Comedy / Romance

**Rating:** PG for Language

**Summary:** This story spans a number of lunchtimes when Lucy and Josh would leave their battle stations and take their breaks. It covers a time before the merger till the time after the new Chief Operating Officer of Bexley and Gamin has been decided.

  
  
  


**Black Shirt Payday Friday 0.5**

 

There was this Italian place down the road, a few blocks from the old Gamin office that matched Lucy’s pink dress and Flamethrower red lips that she and Valerie would frequent for lunch, thanks to their healthy pesto and detox iced teas.

It was a week before the official Merger announcement, and Val is not supposed to find out about her fate in the company till the next Monday. Neither does Lucy. This was the eye before the storm.

But the storm was starting to brew for someone else.

“Helene is going to kill us for ruining the latest Vogue magazine in the receiving room,” Val chuckled to herself as she walked alongside the tiny Lucy. Val, who stood half a foot higher than Lucy, was a brunette alright. However, she has lighter hair than Snow-White looking Lucy with her dark locks and viciously red lips. A viciously sweet Snow White with fangs, if anyone would describe her.

“No one’s reading it anyway,” Lucy exclaimed as she scanned through her phone, checking her possible emails every moment that she’s away from her computer. You can’t really fault her -- she’s quite the diligent one, considering she’s barely a year into this job as the executive assistant to the CEO. “After all we know she’s got like two spare copies --”

She has a hand on the door of their favorite pesto restaurant called  _ La Luna _ , when it suddenly jerked open -- with a tall, bumbling body in a dark suit almost crashing into Lucy’s.

The owner of the body just murmured an almost disembodied “Sorry,” before going on his way, speeding off in some sort of a huff, a seeming cloud hovering over their head.

Val on the other hand had to steady Lucy who almost tipped over due to the hurling force caused by the stranger. However, the moment the shock has subsided, Val had to hold back the girl from trying to throw obscenities at the stranger. The moment Lucy remembered she’s in public though and her thoughts were being said out loud -- she had to compose herself.

“I wonder what is his problem,” she murmured to her friend as they entered the restaurant… only to discover the fracas somewhat left in the stranger’s wake.

There was tea spilled on the floor. One of the cute waitresses that Lucy loved was in tears, and was being comforted by her manager. Some of the servers were still in shock or murmuring to each other.

“What the hell happened here…” Val was at a loss as well.

Amidst the need to run over and try to comfort the waitress herself, Lucy noticed one forlorn looking girl sitting at the end of one of the red and white booths, her food unfinished as she looked out of the window. Judging by her face and the way she looked at the scene (and considering that she was the only existing patron as of the moment before Val and Lucy walked in), she looked at everything as if it was her fault. As if she was the one who brought the storm about.

As Lucy glanced at her blonde hair and sad brown eyes, her thoughts fell awkwardly at the angry tall stranger who just left.

Not knowing the story, Lucy just shrugs to herself.

  
  


 

**White Shirt Monday 1.0**

 

It’s a quarter to eleven, but to Lucy -- it feels as if it has been a week.

It was the first day of the Gamin and Bexley merger, and she first had a glimpse of the shiny 10th Floor Executive Office Arena where Helene and Mr. Bexley would be facing off every day. However, she did not expect that she’d be sharing the room with a fellow gladiator.

Lucy was all up and armed with her most winning smile -- the type she gave newcomers and interns when she first met them. After losing Val to the layoffs, Lucy thought that maybe this merger isn’t the worst thing that could happen to her as she now gets to sit across someone who may become her friend.

Unfortunately, Joshua Templeman seems to be the reigning Prince of Iceland.

After flat out turning down her smile with a smirk as he looked out of the 10th floor window, Lucy felt like a wilting flower left alone to unpack her work box onto her big desk. The moment Joshua coldly shuffled in with his ice-cold Bexley gait, the room suddenly felt more like a prison for poor Lucy, instead of a beacon of hope that maybe things would change.

Things did change, alright.

Feeling like shrinking in her wool dress, Lucy looked over the man’s pristine desk and geometrical patterns of notebooks, rulers, and calculators being set onto their designated places and decided upon leaving her Papa Smurf inside her packing box.  _ You are safer at home with your kin, Papa Smurf _ , Lucy mentally spoke to the figurine.  _ You don’t need to see the ice king who is ruling your realm. I’ll protect you from him _ .

It didn’t help that Lucy can feel a pair of cold turquoise eyes staring at her as she positioned her laptop on the dock, seemingly appraising her. He was probably assessing her, quietly judging her, and deciding how to probably get the better of her in the coming days. And what really made Lucy feel awful is the fact that he has her smile in his pocket the whole time…

Like he’s got one over her.

She saw him snatch his eyes from her direction as he opened his laptop and started typing. Lucy let out a long sigh. It was going to be a long year.

Eventually, the clock ticks twelve and Lucy realizes it’s her way out of this pressurized box.

Stomach growling, she looks up to find that her new prison-mate has not moved from his seat either, and was looking in her direction as if he was anticipating her next move. Scared to move and be further subjected to the newcomer’s scrutiny -- Lucy felt herself exhale when Helene’s office door suddenly bounced open.

“Lucy darling!” Her voice sounded like church bells on top of a hill. “Can you come in here for a second?”

Helene usually never stays for lunch. She’d be out thirty minutes before the small hand meets the big hand on the wall clock, and would probably be eating in a fancy cafe in the center district. But considering it’s the first day of the merger and she has been in a cold war with Mr. Bexley for a total of four hours, Lucy wasn’t surprised if she suddenly wanted some company apart from the co-CEO she despises so much.

Getting up on her feet, the woman barely noticed how her seatmate finally rose from his office chair, picking up a duffel bag from underneath his table as he made his way towards the elevator doors. She swore she saw a glint of inkshot blue eyes glancing in her direction. But when she turned to glare back at him, the elevator doors closed with a  _ Ding! _

“Oh good,” Helene exclaimed as Lucy closed the door behind her. “Bexley should be sinking towards stupor by now.”

“Is there anything I could --”

To her surprise, Helene suddenly slipped her credit card on her desk surface towards Lucy’s waiting hands. “Could you be a darling and order some lunch for the two of us?”

Lucy made a face and a gesture of surprise as she pointed at her chest and her boss’s.

“I hope you wouldn’t mind,” she says as her light-colored eyes peered quietly at the door and back to her assistant’s. “You do know that Bexley and I have another meeting with the finance team after this and I don’t have time to go out and eat before my sugar drops. Also, I’d like to checkup on how you’re doing since the merger.”

Her executive assistant could only be grateful. After being stuck in the room with personification of a cold marble block, Lucy was looking forward to any kind of human contact.

After a few phone calls and the unexpected presence of a delivery man bedazzled by the shiny walls of the 10th floor, Lucy found herself eating a whole box of organic salad, seasonal fruits, and cordon bleu in front of her French-born CEO.

“So how was your first day with Bexley and Gamin Books?” Helene inquired after pushing back a half-finished box, having barely touched the fried meat and cheese. “I apologize if it wasn’t as light and breezy as your first day in Gamin Publishing.”

Lucy shrugged and smiled. “It’s a welcome change. There’s so many people from the Bexley side I haven’t met yet, and so many new names I’m looking forward to memorizing.”

Helene pursed her lips. “I suspect your new seatmate is not one of them?”

The girl’s shoulders drooped. She already memorized his name judging the plaque he placed on his desk.  _ Joshua Templeman _ . The only man who did not return her sunny smile. And she was looking forward to making a new friend.

“He’s…” Lucy felt her voice trail as she placed a piece of orange in her mouth. “He’s a challenge.”

Helene wrinkled her nose. “He’s a Bexley through and through,” she exclaimed as she put her fork down. “You should have seen him when he first introduced himself to me before the merger. The boy sure is a glass of tall water, but that water is cold.”

The younger woman sighed and looked at her food. “Maybe it’s just a first impression.”

There was a twinkle in Helene’s eye as she stilted her fingers and placed her chin on it. “Let’s just hope that first impressions don’t last.”

Lucy for a fact knows that they do.

 

 

 

**Pale Yellow Shirt Thursday 2.0**

 

Thirty minutes to twelve and Lucy walks in from the printing room to find a stack of papers sitting in her IN tray. Having just bought a cup of coffee from the cafe across the street so she has fuel to finish a finance forecast report over lunch, Lucy quickly strides to her desk and picks it up, looking very confused.

“What is this?!” She almost hisses, her voice furtive as she didn’t really want to address the other existing soul in this black marbled room of sickening tension.

It’s been two weeks since she graced the presence of Cage Master Joshua, and as much as she could consider herself as the brave soul who tried to cross him, Lucy could never openly admit how much the man’s menacing temperament scared her.

“I cannot sign that document,” he says in a dead monotone that almost sounded robotic. He doesn’t even look up from his keyboard, making gunshot keystrokes that will make any passersby think that there was a shootout on the 10th floor. “The numbers are all wrong.”

The moment he does look up, Lucy senses a mocking expression forming on his face. “Did you tally the books correctly before you made this report?”

Helene Pascal’s executive assistant turned beet red in anger, in complete contrast of the white blouse that she was wearing.

Lucy slammed her cup of coffee down on her desk, making it wobble. Her co-worker just stared at her, as if he could not be fazed by anything. “I did it –“ she said in a voice that registered as half-panic, and half-frustration. “I checked it three times!”

Without blinking his eyes, Josh uttered, “You probably didn’t check well enough.”

Bexley’s own executive assistant swore this was the first time he saw a tiny volcano put out some steam. Without another word, Lucy snatched the papers from her IN tray and started leafing through it, making offended gasps and clucking her tongue whenever she saw a red circle in one of her computations.

Joshua could feel tiny blue laser dots directed at his forehead as Lucy sat down in a huff, flings the wad of papers in her work tray, and proceeds to unlock her computer.

Amidst her angry gunshot keystrokes filling the air, making his own seem like a very calm and sedated Beethoven playing  _ Fur Elise _ , Joshua felt himself gulp and say the words he did not expect to come out of his mouth.

“If you want, I’ll check the computations for you.”

Her tiffany blue eyes flickered at him as if he called her a profane word that her ego can never accept. In fact, Joshua would have imagined tears in those eyes.

The two stared at each other for some time, as cogs seemingly began to turn inside Lucy’s head as she continues to glare at the man who sat across the room.

Before Joshua can retort again to ask if he said something wrong, Lucy suddenly shot out of her seat and slams her laptop closed. “I’m done – I’m just –“

She doesn’t even finish her sentence as she storms out of the room.

Pencil in hand, Joshua blankly looks at the cup of coffee, half-finished, and still steaming on his co-worker’s desk. He looks down on his planner and quietly writes a slash beside an array of similar slashes, before he proceeds to put dots beside the line that indicated 12 noon.

Lucy however, did not return from lunch after that day.

 

 

 

**Dove Grey Wednesday 5.0**

 

After two months in the merger, Lucy found herself finding temporary solace in this huge group of interns that turned up at Bexley and Gamin. Although they were assigned to work with different department, they all still were required to report to Lucy. Thus the existence this huge crowd of bright-eyed new grads, surrounding her table towards 5pm, all who just wanted to see how things worked around a publishing firm.

However, considering Mr. Bexley hating the sound of chatter outside her door, and the derisive and contemptuous glances from Joshua Templeman’s lonely corner of the office, Lucy decided to move her intern-sheep meeting to the HR floor.

On their last day, Lucy arranged for the interns to enjoy a firm-funded lunch (mostly funded by Helene) outside of the workplace. They were joined by Allie Hartson, a girl from HR who was originally a Bexley. 

But considering her bright colored shirts under her brown and beige blazers, and the colorful baubles hanging from her wrists, Lucy believed that Allie was starting to become a Gamin.

“I haven’t eaten a good plate of pizza in years,” Allie exclaimed as she sat in this long booth with all the happy, chittering interns, with Lucy sitting right across her. It’s been a week or two, but Lucy was slowly finding camaraderie with Allie, who first complimented the bright shade of red that painted her lips.

“Flamethrower? The color is called Flamethrower?” She remembered Allie looking surprised, before she saw a sparkle in her eye. “That really sounds badass!” Lucy smiled, suddenly feeling less lonely after the merger.

Ever since, they’d be having coffee every other day in the pantry, talking about their make-up finds. But so far, Lucy could admit that they haven’t reached Val-friendship levels just yet.

“Well now you can,” Lucy cheerfully exclaimed as she handed Allie her piece on a plate, right after she has given every hungry intern their share. “It’s only a short walk from our office. Surely we can visit here during lunchtimes.”

Heads suddenly turned when familiar voices entered the pizzeria. People from the design team walked in, supposedly having another lunch celebration of their own. They patted one of theirs at the back who seemed to be celebrating their birthday, and sat beside Hunter, one of the shy interns, who was assigned to their visual department. They waved to Lucy and Allie sitting at the other end of the table, surrounded by three younger female interns, seemingly dressed to the nines, looking like younger versions of themselves.

“It seems to be Danny Fletcher’s birthday today,” Allie exclaimed as both girls glanced over the other side of the long booth. One of them, a boy with gold curly hair was being patted on the back, and goaded for a round in the pub after hours. Lucy grinned at him, waved and shouted, “Happy Birthday!” The boy grinned back at her, albeit a bit sunnier than how Lucy usually smiles at people.

Lucy then turned to look at Allie (who raised an eyebrow after seeing the boy’s smile linger at her seatmate’s), as Danny turned away to eventually laugh at one of his colleagues joke upon realizing that the executive assistant’s attention is somewhere else.

“I think I received an email from you earlier,” Lucy spoke in a hushed tone as she saw the smile slowly melt off Allie’s face. “I didn’t get to read it before this lunchout.”

The prospect of having to hang around with someone again post-merger lit Lucy up inside. After dealing with Joshua Templeman’s snide remarks and suffocating silence on the loneliest floor in B & G, Lucy suddenly felt a hopeful bubble floating inside of her – that maybe she’d find the company she was looking for in Allie.

“Yeah, I was supposed to talk to you about that,” she whispered, trying to speak over the cheering of the boys on the other end of the booth. “It’s an email I sent to Jeanette. I copied you, Helene, and Mr. Bexley.”

Lucy felt as if a cloud was settling above her head. “Is it –“

Allie shot her a melancholy smile. “It’s my two week notice.”

Her friend tried not appear crushed. Lucy thought that it seemed too good to be true – finally having a new friend formed by the horrible merger of B & G. “Oh,” Lucy tried to be positive. “It’s so soon. And we were only getting to know each other!”

Barely touching her pizza, Allie pushed the plate away. “I know,” she said quietly, as she looked at the excited chatter among the interns and the regulars. “I’m going to miss all this.”

“What are you going to do now?” Lucy was pushing around pizza pieces around her plate as well, as she tried to look less disappointed.

Allie looked out of the window beside her. “I was going to move to a sunnier place, closer to my parents.” Lucy suddenly felt that pang of homesickness in her. She suddenly envied how Allie could get to go home, and she’s still stuck in that boxtrap of doom. “I am planning to take pre-med.”

As she is happy for her friend, Lucy suddenly felt like she was stuck in a position where she couldn’t seem to get any growth. After all, it’s been more than a year now and she was still an executive assistant to Helene. She was promised to have a part in publishing back then when she was new but – Lucy could only tell herself that she can’t leave because Helene needs her. And she has a challenge to beat.

“That’s a shame,” Lucy tried to stomach a bite of her pizza. “I was looking forward to spending more time with you. I didn’t expect that you’d be gone so soon.”

Allie’s smile was bittersweet. “Me too. I really think we’d get along really well.”

Lucy felt lonelier after hearing those words.

  
  


 

**Off-White Stripe Tuesday 10.0**

 

Lucy never thought this Staring Game would last that long. She wished it would end so that 12 noon would come quickly.

They both arrived from a very tense boardroom meeting where Helene and Mr. Bexley just went on ranting to each other, which eventually escalated to a full-on shouting match. As much as Lucy wanted to keep the peace, she realized that trying to play referee only earned her snide remarks from the unbearable Joshua. Losing the game, she found herself sulking in her tiny corner the whole time, as Joshua presented his report with a smug smirk on his face.

Now come Lunchtime, Lucy has something set that would definitely take her mind out of that horrible meeting. Something very special.

Considering that Helene left right after the meeting, muttering something about a doctor’s appointment, Mr. Bexley ended up locking himself in the office. He’s probably been asleep for an hour and a half now.

Ten minutes before twelve, Lucy locked her computer, picked up her purse, and got out of her chair.

“Got a Lunchdate, Shortcake?” The tall skyscraper muttered without having to look up from his monitor screen. Every time, Joshua never failed to be so impersonal.

“None of your business,” Lucy spat, taking her coat out of the rack.

She swore she caught a glimpse of eyes that looked like they were offended before the elevator doors closed on her face.

She was having lunch, alright.

Albeit she was having it in this cafe just two buildings away from Bexley and Gamin. Hidden around the corner, one of those “hole in the wall” cafes that serve the perfect pesto and cream pastas. Not a lot of B & G employees know about this place, thus making it the best place for Lucy to hide.

After all, there was no way in hell she’d let Joshua Templeman see what she was up to.

Barely having ordered her cup of mochaccino, Lucy looked up and saw a bumbling man around mid-fourties walking through the door, carrying a tiny white parcel. Andy the courier, always clad in flourescent yellow, has always been her go-to delivery man whenever she finds that one collectible Smurf she hasn’t purchased yet on her price guidebook.

“Well if it ain’t Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds!” Andy boomed the moment he got in. The nickname brought over a sickening wave of homesickness over Lucy.

“Hello Andy,” she says with a cheery grin, as her eyes quickly jump towards the small white parcel he sets on the table. She was sure that the Vintage Papa Baker Smurf holding a giant pizza is sitting inside the magical little box. “Here, I got you a cup of coffee.”

Lucy gestures towards a small plastic takeout cup filled with black coffee, which Andy has mentioned to be his go-to fuel before. It was the least she can do for him, since he’s been delivering her treasured Smurf figurines ever since. And it was sort of a little bribe for him to deliver the parcels outside of the office.

“Such a wonderful treat, lovely Luce,” Andy exclaimed as he placed his handheld device on the table, just beside the bowl of pesto that has just been served in front of Luce. “Would you consider this as some sort of date?” He winks at her.

Deep inside, an exhausted Lucy sighs. “You’re adorable, Andy,” she comments as she takes a forkful of pasta in her mouth and signs on his handheld device before putting it down. “I really appreciate you bringing this in for me. Have you had lunch?”

The man takes one glance at the very small bowl Lucy has ordered, and her half-finished cup of coffee. “No need,” he exclaimed, waving it off. “I have another delivery down the road and a few more in the next few blocks. I have a sandwich sitting in my truck.”

Lucy grinned at him. She does believe that kindness does go a long way. But maybe sometimes, she can be too kind.

“Would this kind of arrangement be easier for you?” Andy suddenly asked as he retrieved his device from the marble tabletop. “Wouldn’t it be more convenient if I delivered it straight into your office?”

And let Joshua Templeman make fun of her Smurf collection? No way. “Maybe next time, we can just meet at the foyer, with Belinda.” The receptionist working downstairs was originally working for Gamin. She could definitely keep a secret.

“That sounds good,” Andy exclaimed, winking. “Enjoy your lunch, Lucy!”

And for an hour, Lucy had a bit of peace, surrounded with the smell of espresso, basil, and delicious cheese.

 

 

After that hour, she miserably had to trudge back to the battlezone.

And the moment she stepped into the elevator, she can feel the tension rising up the back of her neck once more.

There he was, standing idly at the back of the elevator, possibly coming from the basement. Bizzaro Clark Kent, with his damp hair, and immaculately pressed suit, was drinking idly from a straw of his juicer bottle.

 

_ Sip. _

 

_ Sip. _

 

_ Siiiiiiip. _

 

In the reflective mirrors of the elevator, Lucy was engaged in another battle of the Staring Game with Joshua Templeman’s reflection that was looking back at her, as he abused the suction element of his poor bottle.

Trying not to make a reaction, despite the sipping from the straw driving her nuts, she glared at him as she crossed her arms, one hand still holding the precious white parcel that she retrieved from Andy.

 

_ Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip. _

 

“Will you cut that out?!” Lucy clearly lost the Staring Game as she shot at Joshua who licked his lips and leaned against the metal surface of the elevator.

“I’m thirsty,” he exclaimed, pocketing his other hand. Lucy felt her glance linger at his giant hand holding the bottle, making its size look as if it belonged to an infant.  _ Josh has really big hands _ , Lucy thought, hating her mind for processing it. “You can’t really deny a thirsty man his drink, no?”

Glaring back at him, Lucy felt her nose twitch.

There was something in the air. A certain smell. Being trapped in a metal lift, there was a certain odor that seemed to tug at her nose. It smelled of something fresh... was it mint? Or soap? Or was it an air freshener? It smelled so fresh that all she can think of is a roaring waterfall, foams and bubbles forming at the bottom, with a figure of a man taking a shower underneath –

Her eyes flashed open.

She looked at her reflection in the elevator wall and realized that her cheeks turned red.

_ Seriously Lucy? _ She spat at herself inside her head.  _ Are you seriously having fantasies of a man while you’re in an elevator with – _

That’s when she saw Josh staring back at her with his mouth open.

His Serial Killer eyes were on.

For some reason that Lucy hated so much at that moment, she felt her neck heat up.

 

_ Ding! _

 

Finally, the tenth floor.

Heels clacking on the floor, Lucy made a beeline straight for her desk, as she subtly opened a drawer and slipped her precious parcel inside. Joshua languidly followed behind her, in slow big strides, still annoyingly sipping from his bottle. He eventually turned to settle on his own office chair.

Preparing to log on as she sorted through her IN tray, Lucy couldn’t help but take stolen glances of her nemesis.

Joshua’s hair looked damp, and in spikes, with a certain gloss that covered it. It looked as if he did just get out of the shower.  _ So that’s the smell my nose is picking up _ , Lucy thought as she smirked to herself, hating the fact that she was able to identify his aroma. She tried not to think of the mid-notes that came with that odor, though she swore she can identify mint. She shook her head, trying to will the thought away.

But she couldn’t help but glance at him again. Despite initially thinking that he always looks immaculate, she noticed a few wrinkles on his shirt. There were a few blots near the neck that seemed to be drying sweat or perfume, and after noticing that, Lucy had to stop her imagination from working.

_ What is that boy doing during Lunchtime? _ She couldn’t help but think.  _ Is he meeting an Amazon and fucking her in the back alley – _

Joshua suddenly cleared his throat.

Lucy had to pretend to be looking through her drawer.

“Horny eyes,” he almost coughed out as she felt herself grit her teeth. Her dentist is surely going to scold her again for that.

Lucy tried to glare at him only to realize that his eyes were all blackened out as he looked at her with hooded eyelids.

Seemingly having a scratchy throat, Joshua had to be the one to break from their staring game as he reached out to drink from his stupid bottle once more.

And that’s when Lucy noticed something peculiar.

She never realized that Josh liked drinking pink liquids.

_ I wonder what that is? _

 

 

 

**Robin’s Egg Tuesday 15.0**

 

Lucy was playing the Staring Game again.

Most of the time, she does it when she thinks Joshua is not looking.

It just drives her nuts that the man would always wander off during lunch breaks and disappear without a trace.  And to think of it, she’d be slinking into the pantry and be gorging on whatever food she has packed. Whether it’s a carb-filled mac and cheese she cooked from home, a sub stuffed with cheese, grilled chicken, and veggies that she grabbed from across the street, or a green salad – Lucy never fails to appreciate her food.

But what does Joshua Templeman do? Chew mints.

One day, she was sure that she can’t let that boy just live on mints. It drove her insane and she believes that despite Joshua’s tenacious stamina, one day he’d just drop and faint on the floor with hunger, even if he probably goes to the gym every day.

Lucy then decided to do the unthinkable.

  
  


Having stepped out during lunchtime to purchase something in the Fashion District, Joshua returned with a bag of new suit jackets in hand, only to discover a peculiar looking white box sitting on his desk.

Eyebrows furrowed, he settled the brown bag from Hugo Boss beside his desk pedestal as his hand lingered above the mysterious white box with a big red circle marking on the cover that was as big as two-thirds of his keyboard.

The last time a foreign object ended up on his desk, it turned out to be a piece of leftover cake from Paul’s fortieth birthday. Considering that Shortcake chose the icing and the red velvet flavor, just thinking of the trans-fat that comes with it made his head spin. As much as he hated getting rid of anything that came from Lucy’s hands, he was afraid that he had to trash it.

But he barely even opened this particular box, and the aroma of baked goods and the tangy smell of garnished vegetables began to fill his nose. Considering that he forgot to pack some ingredients for his power drink, Josh could say that he was feeling a bit hungry after his lunch workout. Considering the stack of work he still has to do, he decided to do light lifting and a little run on the treadmill to make up for his lack of sustenance. 

Although he was supposed to settle for an energy drink he bought in a nearby convenience store, suddenly the idea of  _ real food _ sounds tempting.

Especially when he opened the takeaway box and realized that the food seemed freshly cooked.

Joshua found himself staring down on a mix of colors – burgers that seemed to have been grilled with black beans, stir fried tofu, greens that included red cabbages and iceberg lettuce, half of an avocado tossed in with a sweet-smelling dressing surrounding pieces of cherry tomatoes.

Sitting down on his chair as he looked at the gourmet masterpiece, he suddenly felt his insides churning with hunger and wanting.

He turned to look up at the empty desk right across him, with those blue eyes sparkling... and he suddenly felt himself smiling in silence.

  
  
  


Lucy got back fifteen minutes after lunch, on the dot. 

It’s not everyday when she decides to give herself a treat of exploring a new cuisine -- but after hearing about that new Japanese restaurant opening just two blocks away, she couldn’t say no. After all, little Lucy who may be as small as an adorable Little Red Riding-hood, had a stomach of a true, red-blooded Viking. And of course, it gave her enough time to stay away from the office.

However, after a plate of egg roe sushi and the most expensive Wagyu beef in town, Lucy would just not admit to herself that she was excited to get back to work.

The moment she stepped out of the elevator, her eyes were clearly going straight for the table right across hers. You know, the one that belonged to the heartless surgeon who cut off half of B & G before the merger. Heartless Templeman, as they would nickname him. 

To Lucy’s delight, there was nothing to be seen on the man’s table -- except for his tin of mints. He can hear booming voices, a fart, and laughter occurring inside Bexley’s office. Today was one of those annual finance update presentations where Josh stays in Bexley’s office with the heads of finance, discussing gains and losses. To the men, it was a Western Shootout. 

Considering that the man doesn’t seem to want to eat anything during lunch, Lucy decided to do an experiment. It was something that would prove that maybe Joshua Templeman has a heart and a  _ stomach _ , and her charms can work even on the most horrible person.

The disappearance of the takeaway box on Joshua’s desk just proved that maybe there is hope.

Happy and whistling to herself, Lucy went downstairs to the pantry to make herself a nice cup of tea with milk. After all that seafood and beef gorging, she was going to need some leaf juice to help melt the fats that were currently digesting in her small stomach.

Having her mixture prepped and moving to throw an empty packet of brown sugar down the trash -- Lucy felt hell freeze over when she saw a familiar color down the trash. 

_ Red. _ She looked closely and used her old stirrer to set aside some of the trash in the bin to get a better glimpse of it.  _ A red circle. _

_ The red circle on top of the the takeaway box she set aside for Josh _ .

Lucy couldn’t recognize what exactly was she feeling -- her head was spinning, she was seeing red, and she was beginning to sweat. She couldn’t tell if it was dismay, misery, heartache, or anger. It was all of it in one sitting. All of it churning inside of her stomach, making her feel sick.

Biting back her lip and ignoring the sting in her eyes, she threw away her stirrer in repugnant vengeance.  _ Ungrateful asshole _ , she whispered under her breath and she marched out of the pantry.

  
  


It’s almost two in the afternoon and Joshua Templeman was sitting inside his car, windows closed, and his speakers blasting loud. 

He decided to disappear for a while after the Finance Division meeting, and considering that old Bexley must have closed his executive room door to snooze, Josh was convinced that he needed a break too. After all, he almost lost his voice shouting and reprimanding David and Henry about the unlisted expenses that they tried to cover up.  

And he had something better to do. He knew he couldn’t do it in the office with  _ her  _ watching. Somehow, his ego was still too stubborn to let himself give in.

But he just had to indulge himself.

Nodding his head to the music, he began to mouth the words to  _ Sunday Bloody Sunday _ . Pleased with himself, his secret time in the basement parking, he looks down at his lap and smiles.

On his lap sits an old Tupperware container that he’d always been hiding at the bottom of his drawer. It was for any food related emergency -- leftover from surprise company takeaways, pizza day, or a birthday cake slice he really liked…

He never really got a chance to use it -- until now.

With a plastic fork in hand, the container was filled with the black bean burgers, the tofu, and with the fruits and vegetables mixed about. They were hastily placed inside the Tupperware, that they were all no longer in their perfect arrangement when they were still in the takeaway box. Joshua could only smile to himself, a smile he never really got to show to his co-workers, thinking that maybe he’s right --  _ this came from her. _

Slicing off a piece from the grilled burgers, he poked it with his fork and slipped it in his mouth.

Those blue eyes sparkled when he tasted them as he let out this delicious hum from his throat.

_ They were homemade. _

  
  
  


**Pale Yellow Shirt Thursday 20.0**

 

Joshua took to the boxing gym downtown, instead of the one near the McBride building. 

He was so angry, he didn’t know why. He just decided to take it out on the punching bag dangling idly in front of him. 

Okay, maybe he knew why he was so angry.

The image of Lucy’s tear-stained face underneath those dim lights at the Federal Bar as she pushed him away, saying that he ruined her and messed her up, has been stuck in his brain for more than 24 hours now. Those teary blue eyes, that crestfallen face, those tears running through her mascara…

Now he couldn’t even say he was sorry and make it up to her since Lucy tried to have the morning off, and ended up getting the whole day to herself thanks to Helene’s sympathy. God, just the idea of her lying in bed, thinking that he was the most horrible person ever, and the fact that she didn’t feel beautiful at all because of him...

Gritting his teeth, he threw in a punch that almost got the bag flying across the room.

And to think of the fact that this runt called  _ Danny _ got to go on a date with her and tell her the words  _ You’re beautiful _ before he did…

Josh has now moved his violent sulking from the ring to the shower. 

He’s got less than twenty minutes to pack up, get dressed, pretend he didn’t spend the last forty minutes punching his way out of his angst, and go back to the office. Just sitting across Lucy’s empty desk makes him feel less of a man, and he remembers how the women he always loved always ran for the next nice guy they saw. 

_ Pitying yourself again, Josh? _ He gritted his teeth as he let the hot shower inside the gym’s premises flow down his body.  _ How melodramatic of you. Every damn day is just like that time at the beach when your father didn’t show up. _

He almost punched the wall with that thought.

_ And Lucy _ , his treacherous mind spoke to him, mocking him.  _ Sweet sweet Lucy. You’re going to lose her to someone nice. Again _ .

Josh tried to stop the tears from flowing. Just the image of Lucy telling him that he’s ruined her was enough for him to rip his own heart out and break down in tears. It’s amazing that this woman, this  _ beautiful and amazing woman _ is bringing out all the anger, pain, and  _ love _ from within him. As much as he hates it, he realizes how much he feels alive…

_ And you’re just going to let her go -- just like that? What are you going to do, Joshua? _

He wanted to punch the tiled wall. 

Luckily, he reminded himself how horrible it was to stitch torn ligaments in his hand at the emergency room. Somehow, the memory of a hospital still makes him feel sick. And of course, the idea of water mixing with blood down the shower floor isn’t a pretty sight either. 

He breathed heavily as he tried to calm down, those muscles rippling under the stream of water.

_ What are you going to do now, Josh? _

He felt so pathetic, as he was now sipping his giant power drink as he made his way back to his car -- now completely dressed in his suit, although done in a hurry -- wondering if he could go back to that empty office only to be reminded of his failure from the previous night.

He has barely positioned himself in the driver’s seat, when he spotted a florist just down the road.

_ Is it worth trying to be Mr. Nice Guy for once? _

Suddenly the idea of red roses filling his mind made him forget of all of his self-loathing.

  
  
  


**Pale Yellow Shirt Thursday 24.0**

  
  


The big day is looming.

It’s been hovering like a giant shadow over Lucy over the past few days, that now it has taken a permanent place within her, giving her black rings around the eyes and a sallow complexion.

Somehow the idea of spending an entire weekend in the presence of Joshua Templeman was giving her hope that maybe she could turn the tables around and be friends with him for good, but  _ the idea of the possibility of being trapped in a hotel room after hours with Joshua Templeman _ was making her feel antsy and very very  _ very _ paranoid.

Sure, maybe their individual but connectively linked earthly frustrations would finally be resolved. But she was sure -- that if  _ it does  _ happen, she won’t get out of that hotel room in one piece. And of course there was the issue of his mysterious family…

Lucy sometimes wanted to kick herself for offering to be a chauffeur or even Josh’s moral support for his brother’s wedding. If she only knew that she’d end up being so deranged and paranoid about what’s supposed to happen that weekend, she wouldn’t have opened her mouth in the first place. 

And yet, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Josh. 

Considering what she found out about his father, his failure to complete medicine, and the whole tension surrounding Patrick’s wedding that she couldn’t explain, Lucy couldn’t help but be her emphatic self as she vouched to pay Josh back for the kindness he showed her after she got sick post-paintball mission.

But to pay him back at her expense?

Lucy couldn’t think straight for days. After finding out the news that Josh was pushing through with his  _ plus-one _ plan that involved her, Lucy couldn’t even look at those strawberries she bought in her refrigerator, nor can she eat that cheesecake she has been saving for that weekend. She was pretty sure that those strawberries are going to rot and the idea of that just breaks her heart.

It’s one more day before the weekend, and Lucy is starting to believe that she couldn’t stomach liquids.

She has been staring at her cup of tea for almost fifteen minutes now, and the more it cools, the longer lunchtime seems to stretch for Lucy. She’s been trying not to think of the immediate future as of now, as she tried to focus on the reports she needed to compile and the polishing she needed to do for the upcoming interview for the Chief Operating Officer position. 

But the moment her mind lingers towards Josh, whether its his blue eyes, how he rolls up his sleeves after every shift, the contour of his bicep, the softness of his kiss… Her brain zooms straight towards that impending doom of a weekend and appetite becomes a thing of the past for Lucy.

She’s quietly trying to convince herself that she will need fluids at least -- even if its water -- as she meditated inside her busy mind, trying to calm down.

With her eyes closed, trying to sink within herself -- Lucy’s meditation was suddenly cut abruptly, and almost violently when she head a loud  _ plop  _ bounce off on the wooden table right in front of her.

Opening those almost blood-shot blue eyes strained from the lack of sleep, Lucy found herself staring at a familiar-looking juicer bottle filled with pink residue.

“You look horrible, Shortcake,” she heard that familiar voice beside her.

_ Curses _ , Lucy thought. Unable to feel the fact that Joshua Templeman --  the man she’s been trying to avoid, the man who is the source of her inner storms at the moment, the man who makes her heart jump -- has actually pulled up a chair beside her and placed his bottle in front of her incredulous-looking face.

“Speak for yourself,” Lucy shot back as she took a glance at him.

Joshua Templeman once again looks like a Gamin. A strand of hair was out of place, his tie was once more badly knotted, and there were wrinkles all over his ugly-looking yellow shirt. Black circles were also forming underneath his eyes, and he’s starting to look sallow and stressed. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who looks out of order.

Suddenly feeling pity within her heart, Lucy couldn’t help but look at her ex-nemesis with care, wondering if he’s getting enough food or sustenance. But suddenly, the idea that she’s sitting beside her worst enemy, the fact that it’s completely out of the ordinary, and that people were starting to talk about them -- Lucy almost jumped out of her seat in an attempt to push him away. 

_ What else would they think if they found out about us? _ Kissing inside elevators and making out on a man’s pretty, one-of-a-kind couch could really put a strain on the HR regulations.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Josh snapped exhaustedly, as he ran a hand down Lucy’s arm, cuffing her wrist as he pulls her back down on the chair. “Come on Shortcake, have a drink of this. Just one sip.”

“But --”

“Come on now,” Josh was almost pleading as he opened the bottle’s nozzle and pulled out a hidden attached straw from inside of it. “This is your favorite --”

Lucy couldn’t fight the way his warm, big hands tilted her chin as he brought the straw closer to her lips. Her perverted mind quickly flitted towards the fact that maybe Josh has drank from this same bottle before, maybe a little indirect-kiss from a shared straw would quench her bodily needs for intimacy…

But the moment the taste of strawberries hit her tongue, Lucy felt all her supposedly dead senses come to life again.

Those baby blue eyes suddenly sparked and widened, as they met with Josh’s tired dark blue ones. A quiet, secret smile eased out of the corner of the man’s mouth as he saw the change in the woman’s expression.

“Strawberries…” Lucy whispered the word in veneration -- a taste that reminds her of heaven, and home.

“Yup,” Josh said as a matter of factly, taking a quick sip before settling it in front of her. As if it was a baby’s bottle and he was checking the sweetness and temperature of the milk. “It’s my favorite too.”

The look that Lucy gave Josh was something mixed with gratitude, sweetness, and yearning. She couldn’t say the words she wanted to say -- how nervous she was, how tired she was, how she wanted everything to end: the weekend, the wedding, the interview. And yet through those eyes, she can clearly say without speaking how she was happy that he was just right there beside her.

Of course, Lucy had no idea how those blue eyes of hers had a genuine effect of Josh.

But all Josh could do was give her a small smirk -- almost a smile -- albeit more smug than your usual. 

Both sat there, tired and exhausted. 

And yet, somewhat relieved.

  
  
  
  


**Black Shirt** **_Wednesday_ ** **48.0**

  
  


“Are you sure you won’t join us for lunch, Lucy?”

Lucy could say that she got along better with all the department heads of Bexley and Gamin the moment she became their Chief Operations Officer. She arranged to have the first Friday of every month as a lunch out among division heads, just to build camaraderie inside and outside of the office. Now she feels less alone, considering that she has gotten closer with the people who are working for her in B & G.

“I’m meeting someone today, James,” she smiles politely at the head of Marketing, who hanging around Paul, Karl, and Louise -- division heads promoted from within B & G.

James, sweet and friendly, was actually one of the newbies in B & G. He was externally hired during a restructuring, a week after the judging panel announced Lucy as the new COO. He quickly got along with his team, rose quickly within the ranks, and was assigned in Lucy’s team after a year. He was also seemingly very fond of his superior. However, unlike the rest of B & G, James has no idea about Lucy’s little secret that has ties with a Mr. Bexley’s former executive assistant.

“Oh wow,” James whistled as his fellow leaders shook their heads around him. “Lucy’s got a hot date?”

Nudging him with his elbow, Paul exclaimed, “Don’t even try, James. You don’t know what you’re up against.” Paul, now head of Finance, surely knew that he wouldn’t try to attempt what Danny Fletcher from Design have tried to before.

And Lucy -- just smiled to herself.

Going straight to the elevator, she spotted a nervous smile on the receptionist’s face the moment she got out on the Lobby.

“He’s been there for almost five minutes,” Belinda whispered from the corner of her mouth as Lucy approached. “You better not keep him waiting.”

She didn’t even have to act surprised when she saw him standing beside the couch, seemingly looking impatient. But the moment she walked towards him, his face did something not every B & G employee is used to seeing --

 

Joshua Templeman was smiling at her.

“Wow,” Lucy exclaimed, looking him up from head to toe. “You look like a million bucks. Is it Payday today?”

Slipping his arm around her waist, Lucy leaned in his embrace as Joshua pressed a gentle kiss against her temple. She turned to look up at him with those wide, doting Tiffany Blue eyes and Joshua had to silently whisper in her ear, “Oi. Horny eyes. Dial it down.”

Giggling, Lucy had to compose herself when she realized that so many people are watching with curious eyes.

It was like this everyday -- it was like  _ Valentines _ , every single day. Every day with Joshua ever since that day that they returned from his brother Patrick’s wedding -- every damn day for almost a year was just bursting at the seams with sweetness, gentleness, intimacy, and  _ love _ most of all. And never did Lucy complain even once.

Of course it was a big change ever since Josh moved out of B & G to become the Financial Division Head of Sanderson Print. You should have seen how Lucy was wearing a pouty expression, lips decorated with her fiercest Flamethrower color, as she watched Josh loading his box of possessions in his car on his supposed last day at B & G. Hilariously, people in the building let their hair down the moment the Iceman moved out, but it was Mr. Bexley who was the most upset when he left.

As for Lucy, her sadness was short-lived as she found herself on Josh’s couch that same evening. And the next evening. And the next evening. And the next.

And as much as she found him dry, annoying, stuck-up, and full of himself at the start, Lucy did not expect Josh to be actually full of surprises.

“Where are we going?” Lucy inquired, her hand on his thigh after they’ve been driving through the city for a while. She had to calm him down with a soft squeeze when another car cut him around a turn, causing Josh to shout some obscenities. However, when she squeezed his thigh, this time a bit lower, his eyes suddenly turned dark.

“Stop distracting me, Shortcake,” he exclaimed, flashing those Serial Killer eyes in her direction. “Or else we’ll never get to your surprise.”

“A surprise?” Lucy’s eyes brightened even more. “What is this surprise of yours?”

“Tsk,” Josh clucked his tongue as he turned around a curve. “I cannot believe you forgot.”

The girl pursed her valentine mouth. Trying to wrack her brain for answers, she only got even more nervous when she would catch those laser blue eyes repeatedly glancing at her through the rear view. “Josh,” Lucy exhaled. “I --”

Shaking his head, Josh suddenly stalled the car. Lucy looked out and realized that they were in a nearby park -- the biggest one in the city. Quickly stepping out of Josh’s sporty black car, she found herself staring at a beautiful pond that was reflecting the afternoon sun, and just beside it is a giant oak tree that provided a wonderful shade that would be nice to sit in.

“Josh?? What is --”

She barely noticed that her boyfriend already had got out of the car and had gotten something out of the trunk. As he gestured towards the shade, Lucy found her face turning red when she saw him carrying a giant blanket underneath his arm, as he held onto a big picnic basket on the other.

“Oh Josh…”

He didn’t say a word at all during the entire time he was setting up. As much as Lucy enjoyed watching him work, laying out the blanket with a flourish and kneeling on it as he began to take out their lunch from the picnic basket, there was something that was telling her that she was forgetting something.

Sitting beside him and making another pouty face, Lucy was about to ask another question when --

“Stop making puppy-dog eyes at me, Shortcake,” he said as-a-matter-of-factly, not looking up from what he was doing, as he was opening a container filled with salad and pouring dressing all over it. “It’s not going to work.”

“But --”

“Nuh-uh,” he exclaimed, gently pressing a finger against her Flamethrower lips, causing her to shiver. “You know the rules.”

Lucy turned red. The truth was, the games never stopped. As busy as she was with her work, Lucy sometimes forgot some important dates and would freak-out as she drowned Josh with apologies. Because of this, Joshua started the I Can’t Believe You Didn’t Game where the winner -- who remembers a particular event or occasion or request -- gets to choose what consequences the loser will be subjected to. And most consequences happened inside the bedroom.

“But --"

Sitting on his legs and putting a Tupperware of his homemade omelet down, Joshua turned to look at Lucy with pained blue eyes. “I cannot believe you forgot.”

“I --”

Taking a deep breath and looking up at the blue sky, Josh closed his eyes and took a deep sigh. Lucy was fretting now, as she moved towards him to stroke his arm. Josh however did not seemed to be unnerved by this.

“It’s been a year since we came home from Patrick’s wedding.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “Oh my God,” she suddenly exclaimed. “I forgot to send Patrick and Mindy a card --”

Josh gritted his teeth. “ _ That’s _ not what I’m talking about --”

Before he can continue, he was suddenly interrupted by a gentle kiss on the pulse of his jaw. Eyes fluttering open, Josh found himself shivering all over when the first thing he saw were those robin’s egg blue eyes looking at him so lovingly.

“Lucy…”

Sighing, Lucy took something out of her tote bag and placed it on his lap. It looked like one of those takeaway boxes that turned up on his desk a long time ago. Before he can open it, he felt another kiss planted on his cheek.

“How can I forget?” Lucy whispered into his hair, her fingers tracing his jawline. 

His forgiveness and understanding was in the form of a long, endearing kiss as he took her face into his hands. By the time he allowed her to take a deep breath, Josh felt his heart leap as he saw that lovable smile decorating her Flamethrower lips.

Opening the box, he found himself staring at those familiar black bean burgers once more.

“Oh Shortcake,” he mused, smiling brightly like he never had before. “These are my favorite.”


End file.
